The Shoot Out
by kandykisseshearts
Summary: "This isn't goodbye so let's drop the soppy clichés"
1. Chapter 1

The Shoot Out

A/N: I own nothing

Chapter 1

"That was one of the stupidest things you have ever done, and that is saying something! What the hell were you thinking?"

Cuddy's assistant had mysteriously vanished when House had barged through the doors to Cuddy's office. Everyone in the hospital could hear Cuddy's daily rampage. They didn't bat an eyelid anymore. It was too routine for them to bother caring about whatever havoc House had caused. So long as House's chaos didn't involve them nobody was especially interested.

"That man was a jerk and he deserved it. He spilt urine on me" House replied disdainfully

"You can be as rude to patients as you like but I draw the line at you assaulting them" She yelled

"It wasn't assault he walked into my cane" House shrugged

"Attacking someone with you cane is assault. I've had enough of your stupid antics! You've finally crossed the line!"

Oh God! He couldn't have finally pushed her over the edge. This didn't even come in the top 10 of the things he'd done to deserve being fired. He'd assaulted a famous jazz player that had resulted in a summons to court (note to self: apparently saving someone's life by shoving a breathing tube down their throat is grounds to go to court). Of course there was the Tritter incident (even if that had landed him in a boat load of trouble it was so worth it!). Oh! And then there was that time he'd kidnapped his favourite soap's star...(that one was probably the worst). Point being, hitting someone over the head with his cane was not really that bad, considering his record.

"Are you firing me?" he asked flabbergasted

"I'm angry not brain damaged!...Do you know what Wilson's doing this afternoon?" she smiled sweetly

"Putting on his superhero costume and saving damsels in distress?"

Wilson had told him but House had found it too dull to pay attention to the conversation. Anyway whatever Wilson planned to do would involve or lead to trying to save the world. Especially if it involved a women. Wilson had no impulse control for women in need of rescuing.

"He's giving a talk at McGill, his old medical school"

House took slight pleasure in the fact that Cuddy hadn't defended Wilson's messiah complex or his womanizing nature. However, he wasn't sure why Cuddy felt the need to share this information. If House had wanted to know he would have filed the information under "interesting Wilson facts" in his brain.

"I know McGill is his old medical school. I didn't think the McGill jumper was from an ex-girlfriend...although, knowing Wilson I probably shouldn't rule out that possibility quite so quickly" he contemplated

"Since you have no new cases and before you argue I have checked with everyone in the hospital to confirm that fact, you will be joining him." She leered smugly at him.

If the clinic wasn't enough to bore him into good behaviour then this would be. Of course, there was a very high risk of another lawsuit but it would be worth the risk. House would either suffer the boredom of talking to educated idiots or gain some humanity from being in close contact with people.

"That's not fair! That's ten times worse than what I did!" House bellowed utterly outraged

"You should have thought that before you beat a patient with your cane"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Driving with House was always a nightmare. Wilson had prior experience of this. If he was honest, driving with the man was a bit like driving with a four year old. This really was backfiring on him. He really should have known better than to get excited about going back to McGill. Whenever, he looked forward to something a House drama always got in the way.

He'd worked very hard to get where he was and he wanted to inspire the younger generation by showing them what they could achieve if they really tried. Thanks to Cuddy, House was going to accompany him and give the students the wrong message. It would be hard to explain that the only reason House was an exception to the 'working hard' rule was because he was beyond brilliant when it came to solving the puzzle.

He sat beside House as he drove steadily onwards. His best friend was currently absorbed in his gameboy. It brought an amused smile to his lips.

"So what exactly did you do to get yourself stuck talking to a bunch of students?" Wilson asked lightly

"A guy in the clinic ran into me carrying a urine sample. He got it all over my jacket. So I whacked him over the head with my cane. The smell was so bad I had to borrow one of yours" House snarled disgustedly

"I thought you looked especially smart today"

Wilson cast an eye over his grey hoody. It was far from his smartest item of clothing but it was definitely an improvement on what he normally wore. The only thing that was niggling away at him was the red letters emblazoned across the middle of the hoody: McGill.

Wilson was proud of his medical school. It was partially why he still held onto the sweater. He also appreciated the irony that was where they were headed. The only real issue Wilson had with House wearing it was that it did nothing to hinder the gay rumours. There had been a ridiculous amount of speculation for years about their relationship.

Yesterday, House had actually mentioned to him that there was a bet in radiology about how long they had been, as House so quaintly put it, fuck-buddies. He roared with laughter as he told a less than pleased Wilson that they were apparently sleeping together. Wilson was willing to bet his job on the fact that House was looking for a way to get involved in making a profit out of it. Wilson didn't care how House intended to do it as long as it didn't involve House pretending to the world he and Wilson were lovers. He did not want his reputation in tatters because of a House prank.

It wasn't that he had a problem with that sort of thing. Wilson, unlike House, wasn't prejudice of everything from race and sexuality to hair and eye colour (he had spent last year telling Chase he was a British Nazi because of his blonde hair and blue eyes). No, it just made things awkward. He didn't like turning his mind in that direction because it made hanging out with House feel awkward.

"How much longer, mom?" House whined

"House literally we are ten minutes away. Can you cut the: are we there yet? crapjust for a little bit longer" he groaned

"No!"

House was a permanent headache. He often contemplated what his life would be like if he had never met House. If House hadn't been at that New Orleans conference or hadn't been bored enough to bail him out of jail.

Dull and depressing. He could have been alone with no one to turn to. His first wife had just served him the divorce papers so she wouldn't be dashing over to New Orleans to rescue him. No he could have been stuck in jail for a very long time. Maybe there were worse people to go to a conference with than House.

10 minutes later Wilson's car pulled into a parking lot.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Ah! Dr Wilson and Dr House, I presume? My name's Claire Holden"

A tall girl was standing in wait for them. She held out a perfectly manicured hand as they approached. The girl quickly looked furtively over her shoulder before meeting their eyes. Wilson looked longingly into the depths of those sparkling pools of chocolate. Her ebony hair blew back in a fairytale way as the wind picked up.

Wilson shook her hand politely but House just ignored it and leant more heavily on his cane. The girl looked embarrassed as she appeared to decide it was because of his disability. Wilson knew better than that.

House was an open book to him. His moods were always pretty easy to read but only Wilson could tell what had triggered what mood. He was secretly honoured to be the only one who could read House that way. Right now House's mood was wary. House was rarely wary which meant there was something wrong that House couldn't yet put his finger on.

"Nice hair clip" Wilson commented nervously in an attempt to diffuse the tension

"Thank you. It's a lily, it was my birthday yesterday and my friend got it for me"

She blushed leading them up a path. She was as agile as a cat with every movement as lithe and fluid as a running stream. Her eyes deliberately avoiding Wilson's now. However, House still spotted the misty eyes she was now trying to hide between curtains of dark curls.

He wasn't surprised to see the expression of intrigue passing over Wilson's eyes. House watched as Wilson briefly analysed her obviously beautiful asthetics. A slight smile crept over his saintly face. In truth, despite Wilson's angelic features, he was not as innocent as he would have most believe. Women like Claire cued up because they fell for his Prince Charming act. House had never been fooled by it.

"You can stop eyeing what's-her-name up. She's got a boyfriend" House hissed in his ear

Wilson nearly jumped. He wasn't startled by House's gruff voice anymore but he would always be startled by how House could read his every thought. It made summoning up indignation a hell of a lot harder.

"I was not eyeing her up" he snapped

"Yeah and I'm Britney Spears" House replied sarcastically

"What makes you think she's got a boyfriend, anyway?" Wilson glanced at him suspiciously

"Did you look at the hairclip or did you just start complimenting it?" House rolled his eyes

"It's a lily hairclip, House, what more is there to notice?" Wilson rubbed his forehead

"The engraved L.D & C.H Forever with the added bonus of a massive heart around it" House grinned

"She said she got it from a friend. It could mean friends forever" Wilson replied defensively

"She told you that because she's already won over by your womanizing ways. That and the person she's dating isn't someone she wants everyone to know about. Nobody gets forever engraved if it's just for a friend. If it was a friend it would be a friendship bracelet"

The sad truth was that House was probably right. Regardless of whether her lover was a secret or not, Wilson wouldn't go there. She was about five years younger than him. Early twenties, maybe? She was undeniably very attractive. Despite her flirtatious eyes Wilson agreed that it was impossible for someone as beautiful as Claire Holden to be unattached.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Finally they arrived at an old building. As they entered House noticed it bore a handsome historical aurora of intellect. He estimated it was around 17th century but couldn't be sure. Wilson would know. House would find a way to ask without getting Wilson to recite the entire history of the place. Wilson had never been the kind of person who could stay in a place as historic as this and not look up it's history.

House was so busy pondering ways to weasle a one word answer out of Wilson that he almost missed the fact that they'd arrived at the reception. However, he realised just in time to notice an exchange that made his insides writhe in disgust.

"James"

An old squat man gave Wilson a tight bear hug. His rough leathery skin that had been worn by age and strongly contrasted with Wilson's youthful velvet skin. His bald head reflected the ceiling. However, the man's silver eyes looked right past him.

"Thank you for bringing them, Claire" he said softly

"My pleasure" she turned to leave

Claire glanced once more at Wilson with starry eyes but it wasn't that which drew House's attention. Every female on the planet threw themselves unashamedly at Wilson. That look was normal. What wasn't normal was Claire's sudden change in her tone. Until now, she had sounded professional and overly friendly. However, just then her voice had become as cold as ice and stiff as wood.

"She's nice" Wilson commented

"Still the lady's man I see" he nudged Wilson

House felt a pang stir inside him at the overly familiar gesture. They hadn't seen each other in just over nine years and they were acting like oldest chums. It wasn't right. He knew it was stupid to feel so possessive about Wilson but sometimes he couldn't help it. He would rather give up vicodin for life than lose Wilson as his best friend. It was something he was paranoid of.

"You have no idea. Hooker's actually charge him less because he's so good in bed"

Wilson scowled but he was fluent in House speak. This gave him an added advantage of decoding defensive jibes and outright attacks. At this point he was using defensive jibes. That was a relief because it lessened the chance of a lawsuit (lessened being the operative word). He sensed House's discomfort though so he jumped directly to his side.

"Professor Liles, this is my best friend Dr Gregory House, Head of Diagnostics at PPTH. House this is Professor Liles my old professor" Wilson introduced proudly

"Hi, you can call me Dr House" he stiffened at House's tone

"It's a pleasure to meet you Dr House" he simpered

"Likewise" House warned

Wilson noticed that House was warming to Professor Liles even less than he had to Claire. He was used to House being reluctant for people to use his first name but he had never been this blunt about it before. Normally, he would make a heavy joke about people calling him Greg. This usually succeeded in getting his message across. However, he wasn't even attempting to start with that. Instead, he jumped straight to attack mode.

"Anyway when do we start the talk" Wilson interjected apprehensively

"Oh, well anytime in the next half an hour" Professor Liles replied slightly flustered

"We'll start now, shall we?" House stated firmly

"That sounds great; I just need to talk with Dr House outside, where shall we meet you?" Wilson pressed

"Do you remember Building J Room 4? Just meet me there when you're ready." Professor Liles asked

"Fine"

He dragged House into the next room forcefully but mindful of his leg. House had better have an amazing reason for his behaviour back there. This was his old school and he had so many happy memories of it. His attitude towards Claire he could let slide because House resented any woman who batted an eyelid at him. However, not his old professor, he respected the man too much to ignore House's uncalled for attitude. No, he absolutely refused to let House's unpredictable behaviour ruin his day.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Ok before I start yelling, do you want to explain to me what the hell that was back there?" Wilson snapped

"I was told I had to come here. I wasn't told I had to play nice" he shrugged

"You were rude, defensive and petty" Wilson put his hands on his hips and narrowed his eyes

"I'm waiting for you to name a trait that you didn't already know about me" House sniggered bitterly

"Tell me what's going on"

House heard the note of pleading and it made him feel guilty. He knew Wilson had fond memories of med. school and House didn't want to take those away. He couldn't tell Wilson what was wrong. He didn't even know how to tell him that his subconscious was niggling away at his mind and trying to tell him something was wrong. He knew he'd spotted something off. He just couldn't say what.

"I know you don't like people House and I know you didn't want to come here but can you please make an effort for me" he gazed wearily at House.

House gazed at Wilson. What Wilson was saying was true but even more true was the subtext underneath it: you're my best friend and I know something's wrong. I've really looked forward to today so please tell me so I can help. He truly wished he could figure out whatever, his mind was concealing. However, he would just have to settle for feeling less tense.

"I'm fine" House reluctantly looked away

"So if we go to the lecture hall I won't have to worry about you?" he watched House closely

"You will anyway no matter what I say" House smirked

House smirked as Wilson shook his head and made his way down the corridor. House followed close behind him. He didn't fancy getting lost in this labyrinth.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

House and Wilson arrived in the lecture hall as discreetly as possible. However, a few nosey heads still turned around to stare at the them unashamedly. Professor Liles' speech was far less interesting than the exhausted murmuring between the two doctors.

"...And now I would like to introduce Dr James Wilson"

The lecture hall was filled with bright eager faces applauding enthusiastically as Professor Liles stepped aside and was replaced with the handsome figure of Dr Wilson. His kind bright hawk eyes gazed down warmly at the excited faces looking up in awe at him.

"As Professor Liles has already told you, my name is Dr Wilson. I've been working in oncology for around nine years. All of you here will no doubt the science behind Oncology and about the various types of clinical trials that can be tried. What you won't know is that the everyday part of your job is looking someone in the eye and telling them approximately how long they have to live. You will have to do that at least once a day. Some days are good and you get to tell someone they don't have cancer or are going into remission. Most days aren't like that. I'm the youngest Head of Department at my own hospital, PPTH, and I love my job but it's a hard job. I would have gone insane if it weren't for the people I work with. I deal with patients for months and it's hard not to start becoming emotionally attached to them..."

BANG

House had been listening intently to Wilson's heartfelt speech. However, the noise in the distance had pricked his ears. He looked around the room but everyone seemed too mesmerized by Wilson's voice. All the alarm bells were ringing inside his head. His subconscious was yelling at him once again.

He heard a wild blur of blood curdling screams echo past. He could hear the clatter of feet pounding upon the wooden floor. The crash of things falling on the floor shattered through the conference room. More banging. He really didn't like the sound of that banging.

He peered carefully out of the window in the door.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Wilson, Emergency Vicodin" he whispered just loudly enough for Wilson to hear.

He turned around his face was ghostly pale. His pupils were dilated. The cane was shaking beneath his palm. His knuckles were whitening. A cold clammy feeling was descending over him. His whole body felt as if it were going to collapse and no cane could prevent it.

The conference room became deathly quiet. Wilson put his finger to his lips and walked across the room to stand beside the man whose stoic mask was weakening.

"House, what's wrong?" He kept his voice low

"Don't say anything just look out of the window."

Wilson looked out of the window at first he saw nothing. He was about to yell at House that "Emergency Vicodin" was only to be used when there was a real emergency. He was going to snap at House for deciding to be paranoid when normally he was oblivious to all danger.

He was glad they'd decided their own emergency code phrase years ago. No one needed to know House was losing his grip. It had started as a code for House's agony when he had his infarction. Since then neither had really needed to use it. Both were often too proud to admit they were in trouble. It had sort of faded out of existence. But neither had forgotten it's meaning.

Then Wilson saw what had made House use their emergency code. He was glad they'd decided their own emergency code phrase. No one else needed to share the terror they both felt right then.

The stampede of students rushed away manically from the corridor. Avoiding it like the plague. Their shrieks of fear and agony echoing all around the building. All running away from the same thing. A figure in black combat trousers and a black hoody patrolling the corridors. In the figure's right hand was a gun.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Oh My God!" Wilson chocked as he clung desperately to House

"Dr Wilson, what on earth is going on?" Professor Liles came over

"Keep quiet, stay down and push anything you can move against the door...NOW!"

Dr Liles obliged uncertainly and indicated to the students to follow House's instructions. Wilson went to help feeling like they were taking an eternity. House slithered over to the lights switching them off.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"What's that noise? It sounds like a car backfiring" a boy with blonde hair and green eyes commented in a lofty tone

"For Christ's sakes, keep quiet" House snapped

"Damn, my cell's not working!"

Wilson was pinching his nose achingly hard. He was trying to focus on not hyperventilating. The last thing these students needed was a doctor who couldn't hold his nerve. He dealt with life and death every single day. That's what he had told them. However, he'd never dealt with it at this extreme. At this point though that was the only way he could think of it. The gunman was the cancer and Wilson had to be the chemo. He had to protect these students and House, as well as destroy the gunman.

"It's not a car, John, It's a gun!" a girl with mocha skin and nutmeg brown hair squealed

"For God's sake, Leslie, don't be stupid"

The words were empty. Everyone was looking at House and Wilson. Both doctors hung their head in remorse and alarm. They braced themselves waiting for the panic to begin. Sure enough a string of high pitched yelps and unutterable swear words punctuated the silence.

"Shut up, everyone unless you want whoever it is to know we're in here" House snarled

Everyone went silent.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Does anyone have a phone that works?" Wilson asked calmly

"Here" Leslie handed over her phone

It was a Nokia N95 8GB. It was an old phone with a poor battery life but it was a sturdy phone and notoriously good for obtaining a decent signal. It only had 3 out of the 5 bars but it worked.

He dialled 911.

"Hello. This is Dr Wilson I'm at McGill Medical School in building J room 4. We have seen at least one person with a gun patrolling the corridor...about 6"2, caucasian, possibly male, he's wearing a black hoody so we can't see his face...Can we identify the gun?" Wilson glanced at House when it came to that question

"Colt 45 M1911 Automatic" House murmured

"Colt 45 M1911 Automatic...about forty students, 1 teacher and my colleague and I...Everyone in this room is safe but I don't know about the others...we've barricaded ourselves in...We're looking into possible exits at the moment...I don't know we've heard about 10 gunshots for certain and a lot of screaming so I think there must be at least several...Ok...Thank you"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

At this current point in time Wilson was furious with himself. He should have paid more attention to House's concern than he had done. He knew that, even if House couldn't immediately articulate why he was acting cagey, there was always a reason for it.

Right now Wilson was torn in two parts about having House beside him. On the selfish side he couldn't be more grateful for Cuddy forcing House to come with him. He couldn't have kept it together if House wasn't there. He was programmed into going into doctor mode when House needed him. It was this programming that made him hate the clinic guy for angering House and hating Cuddy for punishing him with this. House did not deserve to suffer like this. How was he going to focus on protecting House and the students.

"You don't always have to protect me. They need us right now" House confirmed for Wilson

Of course the grumpy doctor was right. They needed to remain calm and work together. There were people depending on them to get them out of this who weren't as controlled in their fear. These were kids who hadn't practised the ability of staying cool under pressure. This teacher had never known the feeling practising doctors face every day. They needed to keep a cool head.

"How far a drop is that window?" House pointed at it with his cane

"About one floor. It leads to emergency passage way 6" Professor Liles answered nervously

"Ok, take them to..." House started to say but Wilson interrupted him

"Call the Head. They'll be watching the CCTV, I assume? Ask her to check if she can see students passing through the exit. We're not sending anyone down if the exits have been locked" Wilson gazed at House fiercely

"Who knows the Head's number?" House demanded

"I do" Professor Liles replied meekly as Wilson handed the phone to him

He dialled.

"Hello, Professor Paten, we're in building J room 4, we think we can get to emergency exit 6, has it been sealed? Emergency 4 has but not emergency 6?...Ok we'll try that then. Thanks I..." Professor Liles stopped

Someone was twisting the door handle.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Wilson pushed House gently into the corner of the room. He vaguely noticed John copying him and pushing Leslie behind a bookcase. He stood in front of her shielding her from the figure pushing against the door.

"He can't get in" House pushed Wilson off him carefully

"Professor Liles lead them out"

They watched as Professor Liles ushered the students out of the window. He handed the phone apprehensively back to Wilson. John quickly pushed Leslie to the front. He stood protectively in front of her and guided her safely over the ledge before following. Professor Liles hopped over bringing up the rear.

"We should go" Wilson told House hurriedly as he noticed the desks struggling to hold the door closed

House didn't answer but he allowed Wilson to drag him towards the window. Wilson levered him carefully over the ledge. He didn't bother to ask House if he needed help because he didn't have time for House's pride to get in the way of their safety. He himself didn't hop over the ledge until he saw House was standing comfortably on his three feet.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"House where the hell are you going?"

Wilson bellowed as House turned away from the exit. Wilson followed him determinedly down the corridor. He didn't have time for House to behave recklessly. He couldn't do this if he was worried about House.

"You said yourself. There must be at least several wounded" House snapped

"The paramedics will deal with that." Wilson screeched

"No paramedics will be allowed in until they've caught the gunman and do you really trust these kids to be ready to play doctor now? They'll be too busy freaking out. We are the only fully trained doctors in the building"

The words sunk into Wilson's mind like a bullet. House was right. The police wouldn't risk anymore lives and these students couldn't cope right now. You only learnt from years of experience how to deal with a crisis. These students weren't ready yet. They would be too scared to handle something like this.

"I'll go. You go back to the exit" Wilson ordered

"Forget it. I'm coming" House retorted

"Why? So you can get us caught with the noise of your cane or your inability to run?" Wilson snarled

"No. I'm coming because you can't save all those people on your own." House pointed out

"I'm fairly sure bullet wounds don't require a diagnostician!" Wilson lashed out

"And I'm pretty sure they don't require an oncologist either!" House growled

"What's the point in both of us dying?" Wilson bit back the break in his tone

"If you die I'm alone. At least I'll get to be with you that little bit longer if things do go horribly wrong"

House's words touched Wilson in a way they never had before. House had difficulty voicing his true feelings, especially when it came to his best friend. Yet here he was telling Wilson that, despite how much he pushed him away and tested their friendship, he cared about him and didn't want to lose him.

"House...?" he began

"Don't. We don't have time to do this now. We're doctors and when we waste time people die. If we go now we may be able to save at least some lives"

Wilson didn't answer but he ran beside House without further complaint. Away from the exit.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

When they came to the first body Wilson bit back a load of vomit.

It was a body of a young girl. The skin was waxen and her eyes bulged in terror. There was a single clean shot buried into her skull. Her limp body lay at angle on the stairs. Her school file still clasped in her arms was splattered with blood.

"No pulse" Wilson confirmed helplessly

"Fine. Let's move on"

Wilson knew better than to think the frostiness in House's tone was because he didn't care. House was hiding his real feelings because it was the only way he could do this. If he let himself get caught in the emotions the victim must have felt before she died then he wouldn't be able to continue. House needed to do his job and that meant remaining cold and callous.

"Here" Wilson pointed

A boy with red hair and blue eyes looked at them helplessly. His body breaking out in tremors and cold sweat was pouring down his forehead. Blood was caked in his hair. The bullet had torn right through the flesh of his thigh and blood was streaming from it.

"He's losing a lot of blood fast. Give me your lab coat" House lowered himself painfully

Wilson handed it over unquestioningly. House wrapped it around the boy's leg. He used the arms of the lab coat to fasten it tightly around his thigh. The boy continued to writhe in agony. Even the tightness of the lab coat was only lessening the blood flow slightly. The boy was already starting to lose consciousness.

"I think there's a medical kit in the canteen just in the next room. If I get it..."

House didn't like what Wilson was suggesting but their presence would be inconsequential if he didn't let Wilson try. This was Wilson's old medical school and he knew it better than House. He was also a much faster runner. House would have preferred to have taken Wilson's place but by the time he found it the boy would be dead.

"Ok but Wilson..."

What was he supposed to say? Be careful? Don't get yourself killed? If you get yourself shot I'll kill you myself? Whatever happens I love you? All of those statements were exactly what he was feeling but he didn't know how to say a single one of them without him sounding scared shitless.

"I know and you too"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Wilson was terrified as he entered the canteen. Having House by his side always made him feel safer. House was stronger than most people gave him credit for. He liked to think that just because House was a cripple didn't mean he couldn't take on an armed person.

He almost laughed at the image of House in a ninja pose. He could see House twirling his cane above his head and thwacking it down of the killer's head. The idea of House standing in martial arts position and holding his cane was a comfort.

For all House's jokes about Wilson's superhero attitude he thought House was more of the superhero. He had the reckless attitude, he always wore a mask hiding his true feelings and if you saw the way House used his cane and diagnostic abilities you wouldn't disagree that the man had superpowers.

As Wilson proceeded further into the canteen he saw a line of bodies by it's canteen exit. There was no need to check for pulses on these ones. He made a mental note to tell anyone he could find that these doors had been locked. It wouldn't do to get trapped in here.

He spotted the solid green bag hanging on the wall. He pried it quietly off the wall. He kept his movements slow and deliberate as he progressed to the front canteen door where House was waiting for him. He hung back in the shadows, bracing himself for the sound of a gun firing or more screaming or the sound of footsteps or...


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Take your time"

House's voice may have sounded sharp but he was secretly relieved to see Wilson's young boyish face peak out from behind the door. He walked out towards House completely unscathed. It was a mere bonus that he was holding the medical kit.

House began rummaging for a bandage and some tape to hold it together. It sort of worked. It was an improvement on Wilson's blood stained lab coat, anyway. However, the boy was still not regaining consciousness.

"We need a safe zone"

Wilson rubbed the back of his neck agitatedly. They needed somewhere...anywhere they could take people to treat them without getting killed in the process. That would prove to be very difficult as everywhere was coded and if the killer was a member of the school, he or she would know the code.

"How far away is your old study hall or dorm?" House rumaged in his pockets

"My old dorm is on the other side of the building and the study hall's one floor up but...You have copies of my keys?" Wilson's jaw dropped

"You act like you're surprised."

He really shouldn't be. House was bad at dealing with boundaries when it came to sticking his nose in normal people's business. When it came to Wilson he was his best friend's personal stalker.

"You know, in some cultures, it's considered almost rude for one friend to spy on another. Of course, in Swedish, the word friend can also be translated as limping twerp" he reprimanded weakly

"Admit it, I'm the best person you could want at a conference" he spoke in a frail smarmy tone

"I admitted it a long time ago"

Clearly sentimentality was contagious. In normal circumstances he would have rather topped himself than admit that but now that their lives were at risk he didn't mind. If House humiliated him later then he could deal with that. Not telling House that he appreciated him being there and then losing him would leave Wilson suicidal.

"This isn't goodbye so let's drop the soppy clichés"


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

As they aimed for safety, it distressed Wilson to notice that there were more dead bodies than injured ones. He hoped that meant most of the alive students had escaped. However, he couldn't help notice just how accurate the person was when it came to firing a gun. They managed to pick up 3 severely wounded people. All of them were young med. students.

House locked them in the lab and started pulling out every medical piece of equipment they could find.

Unfortunately Wilson made the mistake of looking out of the door window.

BANG!

Claire had met Wilson's eyes directly as her head exploded. There was a grotesque sight as blood and bone splattered everywhere. Mutilating her beautiful angelic look. She collapsed to the floor in a crumpled heap.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Wilson curled onto the floor he was trembling, feverish and his teeth chattered away. All he could see was the face of the beautiful girl falling to the floor. All he could hear were the endless pounding of bullets eating away at her body.

Wilson noticed the black hooded figure bend down and pick something up from the floor. He noticed the flash of silver as he wiped the lily hairclip clean. Then he placed it in his pocket before walking away.

"Wilson, stay calm" House soothed

"House, it was Claire. The killer shot her...God, House! the killer just kept shooting" he broke down in silent sobs

"It's ok he...The killer just kept shooting her..."

House repeated. The familiar look of an epiphany appeared on House's face. That look normally led to House either leaving to fix whatever the epiphany had made him think of or to ring someone.

House did not disappoint.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The diagnostics office had been waiting for that phone call with bated breath. The entire room had been praying for that infuriating voice to boom out of the reciever. All afraid that they had heard it for the last time.

"House, this is Cuddy...and every other doctor you've had in the last 5yrs. We just saw the news. Are you and Wilson ok? Did you manage to get out of the building?"

Everyone was looking more helpless than they'd ever want House to know. Cameron was biting her nails, Chase was holding her and looking up at Foreman who was standing next to Cuddy and staring intently at the phone. Thirteen was resting her head against her hands, while Taub and Kutner were exchanging apprehensive glances.

"Erm. Wilson's looking a bit green but he did see someone's head explode so guess we can't blame him for that" he heard House's snarky voice boom out the speakerphone.

"Are you out of the building?" Chase struggled to remain calm

"Not in so many words...or any words actually" House joked feebly

"Are you trapped...?" Thirteen began tensely

"No we kind of locked ourselves in. We were feeling crazy and thought it might be fun not to be killed" nobody was fooled by House's light tone

Even Cameron and Chase, who no longer worked for House, considered him their boss. No one in the room would use the word friend to describe House but they cared about him and felt a strong sense of loyalty to him. Plus there was no one who wasn't afraid that they might lose the kindest man ever to work in oncology.

"Look you need to get out of there before one of you gets killed" Taub insisted

"They're not letting paramedics in. No one is staying behind to help so either we let potential doctors die or we do our jobs"

It was easy for anyone to forget that House put the lives of people above all else. They had seen House risk his medical license countless times to do what's in the patients best interest. Despite, his tone he was clearly concerned about Wilson's safety.

"What do you want us to do?" Kutner piped up squeakily

"I need you to find out who Claire Holden was dating and if there was anyone who had a specific grudge against her. She's a second year student at McGill" House sighed

"Why this girl? Is this medically relevant?" Cameron enquired shakily

"No but it's relevant to knowing whose trying to kill us" House answered irritably

"Isn't that the job of the police?" Foreman asked astonished

"Maybe but they seem to be having problems tracking down gun guy so for now just tell me" House answered mockingly

"We'll call you on this number when we learn something" Cuddy finished

"Listen to mommy...and hurry"

The phone clicked to signal the end of the conversation.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

"Why did you want to know who Claire was dating?"

After House had hung up, Wilson finally managed to muster enough intrigue to pull himself together. He returned to forcing himself to keep acting like a doctor and stay professional. House could hear Wilson's thoughts focusing his mind on only tending to the wounded.

"Whoever is the killer picked up the lily hairclip. This points to a jealous lover or a bitter ex-lover" House began helping Wilson stitch one of the boy's legs up.

"So? This guy is insane. Just because he took a hairclip you think she got from a boyfriend does not prove he even knew Claire" Wilson snapped

"I spotted Claire looking over her shoulder earlier. I didn't think anything of it but that was what was bothering me. Claire was nervous. She was also shot more than once. How many did you spot who were shot more than once?"

Wilson swallowed painfully. None. Even the one's who hadn't been killed had only been shot once. The killer had wanted people to suffer but wasn't especially interested in making sure they were dead. The shots had been accurate but completely random. Claire's death had been targeted.

"Why do you even have to know who he is?" Wilson sighed wearily

"If I know who he is I have a better chance of knowing what we're up against. If I know what we're up against then I know what his end game is likely to be. If I know what his end game is then we have a better chance of getting out of this alive"

Even now House was remaining his usual calm and collected self. Wilson admired that. It made things easier with House by his side. House wouldn't make Wilson feel better with a comforting lie but he would understand what was going on inside his head. It was House's knowledge of Wilson's feelings that kept him calm.

"House, do you think we'll get out of this alive? Do you think these people will make it out of here alive?" he fought back a whimper

"We're brilliant qualified doctors, gunshot wounds are not going to get the best of us" House smirked

"Unless it's divine will" Wilson bit his lip

"Yeah, well it's not my will. And if your imaginary friend is really as great a guy as you people say then I doubt he would approve of someone gunning down a school filled with future doctors. So if he does exist a little helping hand would be useful right now" House replied through gritted teeth

"You do realise if you're wrong, and my imaginary friend does exist, you're going to burn in hell"

They were in a school, with a crazed gunman, treating severely injured people and having a conversation about religion. It was like the beginning of a bad joke (what was next? an Englisman and an irish man walk into a bar and...). However, the conversation seemed to be distracting House from the imminent danger. Plus, Wilson felt that now would be a good time for House to start believing in his imaginary friend.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The group of doctors were currently scowering records at the library. Taub and Cameron were attempting to look on the internet for information on Claire Holden. Thirteen was looking through pamphlets on McGill university. While, Chase, Kutner and Foreman looked through newpapers articles over the last six months.

"I can't believe this! House and Wilson are in the same building as a killer carrying an automatic and we're researching who a random second year is dating?" Chase said in a disgruntled voice

"They're staying there because there are people who need their help. I think it's admirable. I can't think of better doctors to be trapped in there with" Kutner praised protectively

"How about ones who don't have the messiah complex? Both of them risk their careers unthinkingly when it comes to patients and that's a great quality. However, do you think they wouldn't risk their lives for their patients as well? And what about each other? Those two know no boundaries when it comes to protecting each other. Something is going to go wrong"

Cameron may have sounded overly negative but no one was willing to disagree. Wilson and House had both broken protocol in the past. Wilson fed his terminal patients cannabis and had given one of them a lobe of his own liver. House had ignored a DNR to buy time to get a cure and lied to the transplant committee about a woman's mental state to get her a transplant. Cameron's concern's were well founded

"Check this out!" Taub exclaimed

"She's cute" Foreman smirked looking at the computer screen

There was an article on the internet with a picture of Claire Holden smiling sweetly. Her long dark hair cascading down her back. Her eyes were filled with life. She emanated a radiant beauty. Yet she had a look of intellect and caring. She was someone who clearly took pride in her appearance.

"Oh My God! Does that say...?" Thirteen gasped reading the article

"Anyone else think we should call House?" Kutner looked around the horrified room


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The group of doctors were currently scowering records at the library. Taub and Cameron were attempting to look on the internet for information on Claire Holden. Thirteen was looking through pamphlets on McGill university. While, Chase, Kutner and Foreman looked through newpapers articles over the last six months.

"I can't believe this! House and Wilson are in the same building as a killer carrying an automatic and we're researching who a random second year is dating?" Chase said in a disgruntled voice

"They're staying there because there are people who need their help. I think it's admirable. I can't think of better doctors to be trapped in there with" Kutner praised protectively

"How about ones who don't have the messiah complex? Both of them risk their careers unthinkingly when it comes to patients and that's a great quality. However, do you think they wouldn't risk their lives for their patients as well? And what about each other? Those two know no boundaries when it comes to protecting each other. Something is going to go wrong"

Cameron may have sounded overly negative but no one was willing to disagree. Wilson and House had both broken protocol in the past. Wilson fed his terminal patients cannabis and had given one of them a lobe of his own liver. House had ignored a DNR to buy time to get a cure and lied to the transplant committee about a woman's mental state to get her a transplant. Cameron's concern's were well founded

"Check this out!" Taub exclaimed

"She's cute" Foreman smirked looking at the computer screen

There was an article on the internet with a picture of Claire Holden smiling sweetly. Her long dark hair cascading down her back. Her eyes were filled with life. She emanated a radiant beauty. Yet she had a look of intellect and caring. She was someone who clearly took pride in her appearance.

"Oh My God! Does that say...?" Thirteen gasped reading the article

"Anyone else think we should call House?" Kutner looked around the horrified room


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

"If I go crazy then will you still

Call me Superman

If I'm alive and well, will you be

There holding my hand

I'll keep you by my side with

My superhuman might

Kryptonite"

"Turn it on silent! Are you trying to get us killed?" Wilson squeaked

"Alright, alright"

He answered the phone extraordinarily quickly (mostly to shut Wilson up). He was still scared out of his mind but somehow the exceptionally black humour softened the tension for him. He made a mental note me to compliment the Leslie girl on her choice of ringtone for setting the mood.

"House's House of Murder, How can we help?"

The colleagues were relieved to hear House's nervous mocking tone. So long as House was pretending to crack jokes it meant that both he and Wilson were unharmed.

"Clare Holden has an older twin brother called John Holden" Taub leaned closer to the speaker phone

"Just in case you were wondering, if that's the only news you've got for me then you're fired! That includes Chase and Cameron too" House lashed out

"The brother went to the teacher a….Professor Liles? Saying he thought a guy was stalking her. Teacher wasn't interested. Claire herself said it wasn't a big deal and thought it was cute he had a crush on her" Thirteen chipped in

"Wilson's not going to like that. Keep going"

They heard the familiar squeak of a marker dragging down a white board. There was also the welcoming sound of Wilson's voice scolding House. Clearly whatever House was using for his little whodunnit was not supposed to be used. At least it meant they were both safe.

"The brother wasn't best pleased especially when he kept giving her gifts. It wasn't until he carved her name on his arm she panicked" Foreman added

"Creepy" House agreed

"Nothing came of it so it was probably just a rumour" Chase shook his head

"Shall we list what we know before crossing things off? Did you find anyone with the initials R.Q that Claire knew?" House groaned

"Anyway Claire was wearing a lily shaped hairpin with R.Q & C.H Forever written on it surrounded by a big heart. Logically C.H is Claire Holden, so I'm assuming R.Q. is the stalker…..?"

Cameron hesitated as House pointed this out. There had been a brief mention of L.D but the connection was slim and backed up by zero evidence. It was completely hearsay.

"I can hear Cameron's mind debating whether to tell me or not" House sang down the phone

"There was a gossip site set up called McGill Central. It mentioned several rumours about Ray Quinn" Cameron began apprehensively

"Yeah, yeah, yeah! I get it, it's just a rumour, hurry up and tell me" House pressed

"A guy called Ray Quinn got picked on a lot on their particularly by John even Claire got in on the teasing later" Cameron mumbled

"They should make a movie about her! Anything else?" House barked at them

He waited for the general murmur of no.

"Call me back if you get any more information"

He hung up.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

"Good news or bad news?" House turned to Wilson smugly

"Good news, I'm not ready for more bad news" Wilson sighed

"I know who our gunman is" House beamed

"Good for you, now can you help me remove the bullet from this guy's jaw?"

House moved closer to Wilson and held the boy's head steady. Ice blue eyes met hawk brown and they exchanged an affectionate glance as Wilson used tweezers to pry the bullet from the jaw. This guy would be fine if they could stop the bullet infecting the jaw.

"Why's the computer screen flashing?" Wilson cast a glance at it.

They both got up completely sychronised and headed to the computer screen which kept flashing on and off ominously.

1 video message

House pressed a finger to his lips. Slowly he pulled out his ipod. He removed the headphones from it and reattached them into the computer. He passed one earphone to Wilson and kept the other for himself.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

"Remember me? My name's Ray Quinn. It's my turn to have fun. It's my turn to taunt you. If you'd been a little kinder then this might not have happened. It's just as much your fault as it is mine. You could have stopped this. You destroyed me. You screwed up my life.

Even Princess Claire was just as bad as you snobs and bullies. Maybe she was even worse. That's why you worshipped her. She was jailbait served on a silver platter. She was a slut with no standards.

She was the only person who was nice to me. I shouldn't have fallen for her act. She never loved me. She used me. You knew what she was and all you did was ignore it. Even when I posted it on your stupid blog. That's right I know about the blog. Everything I wrote was true.

See now you're finally listening. Now you're scared so you've got to listen. If you'd listened before I wouldn't have had to do this. But now you've forced me to do this. I had to make it loud enough for you to hear.

You have no idea how extreme this is going to be. You have no idea what's going to happen exactly one hour after this video ends. You can't imagine just how terrible my revenge is going to be..."

House yanked the headphones out of their ears. He paused the video.

"What is it?" Wilson asked alarmed

"He's planted a bomb"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

"Are you sure?" Wilson stammered

"Right before this video Cameron mentioned Claire had a stalker, who called himself Ray Quinn, who the other kids posted rumours about on a gossip site. Also he said that an hour after this video something worse is going to happen than someone gunning down his fellow med. students. Something loud" House pounded his cane on the floor.

Fuck! Things were just going from bad to worse. They either stayed here and prayed House was wrong about the bomb or they ran for it and prayed the killer didn't catch them. Wilson didn't like their chances either way.

"We've got to try an escape. We can't risk anyone going into that building while there's a possible bomb in here. How are we going to do this?" Wilson rubbed the back of his neck agitatedly

"What do you mean?" House was perplexed

"Well first how are you going to travel when you're running out of vicodin?" Wilson raised his eyebrows.

Trust Wilson to notice the amount of pain he was in even when they were trapped in the killer's playground. Nice metaphor. However, that didn't change the fact he was going to have to run for his life (literally!) without getting caught.

"I'll manage" House glared

"Secondly how are we going to rescue these kids? I assume we're not leaving them here" Wilson pointed to the 3 injured victims

"Hell no, we did not risk our lives to let them die now" House concurred

"Ok, we'll have to try and carry them then" Wilson replied uncertainly

"You get started on that and I'll text the Kids to tell mommy that there's a bomb in the building"

Wilson rolled his eyes.


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

Carrying 3 injured students between 2 people is not an easy task. Especially when one of those 2 people is a cripple. However, they managed. Although they were not moving at a fast pace it was a steady pace.

Every moment became more and more unnerving. Stepping over the dead bodies had been the hardest part. When Wilson had first seen Claire's body House had been worried if he would be able to continue. The way she was laid before them with a look of sheer dread in her eyes. Her body was drowning in blood. Her face had been disfigured by countless bullets.

Yet they succeeded in reaching the door of emergency exit 4...

"It's sealed. It's the first exit I sealed"

The two friends turned to face a boy wearing a black hoody that had covered his face. Until now. Now they could see the snake green eyes peering out of it. His lank brown hair was flopped across his face.

"We're not students we're..." Wilson started to defend but Ray just laughed

"I know who you are. Doctor Wilson PPTH's star Head of Oncology and Doctor House World renowned Diagnostician at PPTH" Ray grimaced

They were both aware of the compliments they had received but it was somewhat tainted by the malicious delivery. Wilson wanted to run but his heart wouldn't let him leave House behind. House wanted to taunt Ray and attack him with his own gun but fear for Wilson's safety stopped him.

"How do you know that?" Wilson breathed almost forgetting he was talking to a killer

"Like Liles didn't mention his star pupil and idol. Like he didn't make us study your famous reputations. Like I can open a medical journal and not read a paper you've either written or was written about you. You're regular celebrities around here"

Clearly House and Wilson's celebrity status was not appreciated by Ray. He pointed the gun at both of them. Reminding them who was in control of the situation. Not that either really needed to be reminded.

"Look we don't mean you any harm, we just want to leave" Wilson begged

"No I thought you'd join me for my big finale. Thanks for playing the video by the way. I was worried I'd have to do it myself and no one would see my fine work" Ray chuckled

"Your welcome but I've already got tickets to one fireworks display so..."

House struggled to hold the injured boy close to him. He didn't want to draw to much attention to the fact he had Wilson were trying to rescue three wounded kids. It was unlikely Ray intended to let them go but it was even less than unlikely he'd let them go if they took 3 of his victims with them.

"What do you know about fireworks?" he scowled

"I know you've got a bomb hidden that was triggered by the ending of the video message" House grimaced

"Very good Dr House, how did you guess? family member in the army?" Ray grinned manically

"My dad was in the marines. It's how I know that's a Colt 45 M1911 Automatic" House nodded at the gun

"You were the one that grassed me up to the police?" Ray growled pointing the gun between House's eyes

"No that was me" Wilson interjected hurriedly

"Forget it! He wouldn't have even known it was an automatic if I hadn't told him"

The two best friends glared at each other testily. They both threw mental insults at the other. Both aiming to make their friend back down. However, their stubbornness was evenly matched.

"Make your mind up who wants to die first in a pathetic attempt to save the other" Ray mocked

"Me" Wilson said decisively

"No"

House pushed himself in front of Wilson shielding him from the gun. Ray rammed House over the head with the gun. He laughed ecstatically as House was forced to grip tighter onto his cane to avoid staggering and dropping the boy.

"Would you die to save him Dr House? Do you love him enough to give your life in exchange for his?" Ray pressed the gun against Wilson's temple

"Yes" he nodded firmly

"Why?" Ray narrowed his eyes

"Before Wilson I was alone. I didn't like anybody except my girlfriend and we were already having problems even before my infarction. If I hadn't met Wilson I'd still be alone and completely suicidal" House stared at the floor.

Ray's hand trembled; he wanted to believe that the man's were true. He wanted to believe that this talented diagnostician understood what it was like to be hated by everyone and then betrayed by your own girlfriend. He had a friend though. That was something Ray had never had. Did Doctor Wilson feel the same way?

"What about you Dr Wilson? Why would you die to save him? Why do you love him enough to give your life in exchange for his?" Ray pointed the gun between House's eyes

"I've screwed up every relationship I've ever been in. Every single one but my one with House. I was getting divorced when I met him. I didn't handle it well too say the least. If I hadn't met House, I'd probably still be in jail"

Jail? Ray had thought it would be the other way around. Dr House struck him as more of the rebel type, from his obvious stealing of other people's clothes (or at least jumper) to his rude abrasive tone. Yet Dr Wilson with his handsome face, charming manner and pocket protector was the one who had admitted to being in jail.

"How did you two meet?" Ray asked shrewdly

"You're kidding right?" House groaned

"No!" he pointed the gun in House's face


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

A/N: The parts not in italics are the flashback

_"There was a convention in New Orleans and I was fresh out of med. school. I was at the hotel bar trying to unwind, having a drink and there was this guy who kept playing Billy Joel's 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone' on the jukebox"_

A man with auburn brown hair sat at the bar. In one hand he held a brown envelope and in the other a whiskey glass. He stared into its depths in complete despair. He could feel his mood growing steadily worse. It was especially unhelpful that someone had decided to keep replaying his wedding song. 'Leave a Tender Moment Alone" could he have picked a song more accurate for his life story?

If the girl gets too close

If I need some room to escape

When the moment arose

I'd tell her it's all a mistake

But that's not how I feel

No that's not the woman I've known

She's undeniably real

So leave a tender moment alone

But it's not only me

Breaking down when the tension gets high

Just when I'm in a serious mood

She is suddenly quiet and shy

Leave a tender moment

Leave it alone

_"Leave a Tender moment is a good song" Ray commented thoughtfully_

_"It's a great song, he was out of line" House agreed_

_"Not as good as scenes from an Italian restaurant" he mused_

_Typical House! A man is pointing a gun at them and all House can do his interrupt Wilson's attempt at distracting the man by discussing song preferences? God House really was unbelievable._

_"So I asked the man to stop - politely" Wilson_

_"Yeah you yelled politely" House sniggered_

_"I was polite the first couple of times but courtesy made no impression on this ass so I threw a bottle into the mirror which successfully conveyed my message..." Wilson tailed off abashed_

"Sir, I was wondering if it would be possible to hear a different track?" He asked cordially

"Yeah, yeah whatever, Kid!" the man sneered

"I would really appreciate you playing a different song" he persisted

"Go back to your wifey kiddo!"

Everyone has a breaking point. That man found his. In that moment he lost control. The man had hit a very fresh and very raw nerve. He wasn't ready to have his misery jeered at just yet.

"ENOUGH!"

He picked up the man's beer bottle. He summoned up every trace of anger within him. He closed his eyes and with no aim threw the bottle...

Smash!

Shards of glass shattered all around him. They fell to the floor twinkling like shattered pieces of hope. Like shattered pieces of his life. The reflective glass merged with green glass of the bottle.

That would have been pretty bad for him on its own. Breaking 10ft antique mirrors is proven to be bad luck as every time you do it costs you heck of a lot of money. Apparently it can also lead to an arrest and a brawl.

He noted this as shot glasses went flying around the room. One particularly badly aimed (or well aimed in Wilson's opinion) sliced the cheek of the man who'd been playing the wretched song. He ducked when he saw the man wandering over to punch the guy very sharply in the nose.

_"Leading to an arrest on: vandalism, destruction of property and assault" House listed gleefully_

_"I had nothing to do with that fight. The assault charge was totally bogus and I paid for the mirror" Wilson replied indignantly_

_"Did you or did you not get arrested under those charges?" House raised his eyebrows_

_"Well..."_

"James Evan Wilson. You are charged with vandalism, destruction of property and assault. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law"

He let the police man handcuff him and push him out of the bar. He briefly locked the gaze of a man with piercing blue eyes before he turned away and hung his head in shame.

_"I assume you were the guy who was playing the song?" Ray glanced at House quizzically_

_"No I was the guy who bailed him out" House whispered softly_

_"That's how we met. I was in jail"_

He sat in the dank cell wondering how long it would take before anyone would miss him. He hadn't started looking for a job yet so that ruled out anyone at work missing him. He didn't have any friends who he'd bothered to keep in touch with (that's what you get for focusing on your work instead of your social life!). He wasn't due to see his parents or brother for at least 3 months. His wife? Now that was laughable. After what he'd done she'd pay the police to keep him locked up.

_"Mr Wilson your bail's been posted"_

That was quick and odd. He didn't know anyone at the convention. He was equally sure no one knew him. Maybe it was a woman who'd seen what was happening. Unfortunately that was the most plausible explanation. However, he still ran out eagerly to greet his saviour.

Ice blue met hawk brown.


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

"I took care of it. Those were the first words he ever said to me" Wilson smiled at House

"This guy was a total stranger to you and you bailed him out?"

Ray was struggling to comprehend this. These two had formed their friendship out of nothing. It was a single random event that lasted. Maybe their actions were because of some kind of debt. Dr Wilson owed Dr House his life and he had only bailed out Dr Wilson because he needed a favour. Now they had just turned it into a touching compassionate act to save both their skins.

"It was a boring convention I needed to have somebody I could drink with" House shrugged

"And there's the foundation of our entire friendship. If you hadn't been bored 1 weekend it wouldn't even exist" Wilson glared weakly at House

Surely they should have come up with a better sob story. It didn't really gain so much sympathy when you openly admitted that you only rescued someone because you were bored. However, Dr Wilson didn't seem surprised or angry – slightly reproachful maybe but that was all.

"But it does. Despite being scared to death of losing anyone who matters to you" House whispered

"And despite your amount of near-death experiences, yes it does"

There was softness in their tone that was laced in hidden affection. There was no declaration of devotion. There was no speech about love. Not when he didn't ask for it. No, their hands entwined subconsciously. It was such a secretive gesture that Ray almost missed it.

"You suicidal or something?" Ray pointed the gun closer at House

"No I just have a habit of meeting angry people with guns...seriously! The first guy shot me because when I was diagnosing his wife she found out he had an affair and killed herself so he blamed me for that. The second guy pointed a gun at my head and held me hostage until I could work out a way to diagnose his mystery illness and you'd be third to be pointing a gun at me. It's really making me question my view of myself as a people person" He joked

"House, shut up! Not all of us have 9 lives!" Wilson groaned

Ok clearly things were more complicated than he'd thought was possible. They couldn't stop arguing for two seconds but they couldn't back down from the role of protector. They were friends, that much was undeniable but did their feelings for each other really run that deep? Did they really care that much? Or was it all an act?

"One of you can live and the other dies. Pick between you. You have 60 seconds starting from...now" he stared at the clock but was still poised and ready to shoot

Let's see how loyal these doctors are when their own lives are at stake. If there's one thing Ray had learnt from the synagogue teachings it was how to test a person's faith. He understood temptation. He was King Solomon and he was going to test their true feelings.

"I'm a drug addict with a crippled leg. No one likes me so no one will miss me. You're young and healthy. You're the hospital's boy wonder oncologist, every woman within a mile radius will be sobbing at never having her heartbroken by James Wilson. Plus, like you said...not everyone has 9 lives. Mine are up." House chuckled bitterly

"I'm clinically depressed. I can't make any relationship work and the majority of patients I treat end up dying. You have the greatest mortality rate of any doctor I've heard of. Even more importantly...You're not the only person who'll be alone without this stupid screwed up friendship. I'm not leaving you"

That wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to screw each other over. They were supposed to prove to him that either one loved the other more or their friendship was a sham. That wasn't working though. Neither wanted the other to die alone. They needed each other. Even if their friendship was as screwed up as Dr Wilson said, it was truer than either wanted to admit. Until now.

"Emergency Exit 6 is unlocked. You can get out that way" Ray looked away from them

"What?"


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

"I took care of it. Those were the first words he ever said to me" Wilson smiled at House

"This guy was a total stranger to you and you bailed him out?"

Ray was struggling to comprehend this. These two had formed their friendship out of nothing. It was a single random event that lasted. Maybe their actions were because of some kind of debt. Dr Wilson owed Dr House his life and he had only bailed out Dr Wilson because he needed a favour. Now they had just turned it into a touching compassionate act to save both their skins.

"It was a boring convention I needed to have somebody I could drink with" House shrugged

"And there's the foundation of our entire friendship. If you hadn't been bored 1 weekend it wouldn't even exist" Wilson glared weakly at House

Surely they should have come up with a better sob story. It didn't really gain so much sympathy when you openly admitted that you only rescued someone because you were bored. However, Dr Wilson didn't seem surprised or angry – slightly reproachful maybe but that was all.

"But it does. Despite being scared to death of losing anyone who matters to you" House whispered

"And despite your amount of near-death experiences, yes it does"

There was softness in their tone that was laced in hidden affection. There was no declaration of devotion. There was no speech about love. Not when he didn't ask for it. No, their hands entwined subconsciously. It was such a secretive gesture that Ray almost missed it.

"You suicidal or something?" Ray pointed the gun closer at House

"No I just have a habit of meeting angry people with guns...seriously! The first guy shot me because when I was diagnosing his wife she found out he had an affair and killed herself so he blamed me for that. The second guy pointed a gun at my head and held me hostage until I could work out a way to diagnose his mystery illness and you'd be third to be pointing a gun at me. It's really making me question my view of myself as a people person" He joked

"House, shut up! Not all of us have 9 lives!" Wilson groaned

Ok clearly things were more complicated than he'd thought was possible. They couldn't stop arguing for two seconds but they couldn't back down from the role of protector. They were friends, that much was undeniable but did their feelings for each other really run that deep? Did they really care that much? Or was it all an act?

"One of you can live and the other dies. Pick between you. You have 60 seconds starting from...now" he stared at the clock but was still poised and ready to shoot

Let's see how loyal these doctors are when their own lives are at stake. If there's one thing Ray had learnt from the synagogue teachings it was how to test a person's faith. He understood temptation. He was King Solomon and he was going to test their true feelings.

"I'm a drug addict with a crippled leg. No one likes me so no one will miss me. You're young and healthy. You're the hospital's boy wonder oncologist, every woman within a mile radius will be sobbing at never having her heartbroken by James Wilson. Plus, like you said...not everyone has 9 lives. Mine are up." House chuckled bitterly

"I'm clinically depressed. I can't make any relationship work and the majority of patients I treat end up dying. You have the greatest mortality rate of any doctor I've heard of. Even more importantly...You're not the only person who'll be alone without this stupid screwed up friendship. I'm not leaving you"

That wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to screw each other over. They were supposed to prove to him that either one loved the other more or their friendship was a sham. That wasn't working though. Neither wanted the other to die alone. They needed each other. Even if their friendship was as screwed up as Dr Wilson said, it was truer than either wanted to admit. Until now.

"Emergency Exit 6 is unlocked. You can get out that way" Ray looked away from them

"What?"


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

House sensed Wilson's legs go weak with shock. He gripped Wilson's hand tighter for support. This resulted in House nearly falling over too but Wilson steadied them both. His face expressed the disbelief that House felt. They hardly dared accept what they were hearing. Yet as the gun lowered their hope rose.

"This was only ever about revenge. Claire pretended to love me, John threatened me and the others dismissed me. They made my life a living hell. I killed in the hopes of a new start for those who were hurt like me. You came back to save these strangers and risked your lives for them. You then were willing to sacrifice them again for each other. Those are the actions of innocent men. I won't kill the innocent. My aim is to kill all those with evil in their heart. No exceptions."

Ray turned the gun around and pulled the trigger.

Just like Claire's his head blew up. Bone and blood splattered everywhere. It covered the McGill jumper House was wearing. His body lay sprawled against the passage way to emergency exit 6.

"Oh! Hell!"

The doctor instinct took over. They carefully put his victims on the ground beside them. Both Wilson and House knelt down beside the body. They knew it was already too late. The guy was a good shot. He'd died almost instantly.


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

"Freeze! We have you surrounded!"

About twenty men wearing black suits and carrying guns that looked like rifles (although, Wilson couldn't be sure because as far as he was concerned a gun was a gun). They circled the body of Ray Quinn like birds of prey.

"Hey, Einsteins, He's dead!" House snapped looking up from the ghostly face before him

"Are you alright, sirs?" One of the men asked the two doctors

"We're doctors! And yeah, no thanks to you!"

For once Wilson sympathised with House's rage. They had been face to face with a serial murder carrying a loaded gun and nobody had thought to come and help them. Honestly, how hard is it to find someone blindly taking aim at hundreds of students? Surely all you had to do was follow the sounds of gunshots or maybe just check CCTV?

"We need to get these kids out of here before they die" Wilson ordered

The men looked uncertainly at the dead body of the gunman. Then after noting the warning look from both doctors they helped carry the bodies of the wounded and the killer. They made sure to carry the gun separate from Ray's body.

House was rather annoyed that they didn't appear to trust his judgement. He had been practising medicine for years. Did they think he couldn't tell the difference between someone who was alive and someone who was dead? If he couldn't do something that simple then how would he have gotten his medical degree (even if he hadn't been expelled from 3 different medical schools)?


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

As House and Wilson exited through emergency exit 6 they were greeted by applause. It started slow and appreciative but then descended into an uproar of joy and pride. It was only partially directed at the men carrying the injured bodies.

House and Wilson turned to look at each other, both completely stunned by the people standing in the distance hailing their presence. They gazed at the faces of tearstained people still cowering together in fear. However, they looked up at their heroes with joyful smiles.

"House! Wilson!"

House's team, ex-team and Cuddy barged through the crowd and ran up to them. They threw their arms unashamedly around the two men and sobbed into their t-shirts, ignoring their bloodstained clothes. No one could hold in their joy at seeing their brave leaders return from the battle.

"I don't understand, what happened to the bomb? Surely it should have gone off by now" Cuddy asked pulling herself together

"I'd like to know that myself actually" Wilson looked at House curiously

"We were idiots. We never triggered the bomb because the video never played to the end" House smirked

"In our panic we paused it" Wilson roared with laughter

It was truly unbelievable. House must have either been a cat in a former life or sold his soul to the devil. That man really was impossible to kill. Every time you thought you had House cornered he turned the tables. It was only by mere chance that they hadn't triggered the bomb. It was equally by mere chance that Ray had chosen to turn the gun on himself rather than them.

"Why didn't he kill you? Not that we aren't happy you're alive but he did gun down half a school" Chase asked baffled

"He had some crazy idea that Wilson and I were the good guys" House answered with only a ghost of his usual sarcastic humour.

They loved each other. That's why they'd been spared. Whether House would say it out loud or not didn't change the rush of emotions they had felt in there. It didn't change the fact that they both knew they would sacrifice their lives for each other. They left McGill with that knowledge locked in their hearts.


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

"And finally we have an update on the McGill shooting. Nearly 60 students and 4 teachers were found dead at the scene. Another 250 have been reported as seriously injured. The killer, now identified as second year med. student: Ray Quinn.

SWAT emerged only hours ago from the building carrying the dead body of the killer. It appears that moments before they arrived to arrest him he killed himself in the presence of 2 witnesses: Dr. James Wilson and Dr Gregory House.

It appears the real heroes of this tragedy were apparently those 2 doctors. They were at the university purely to give speeches on diagnostic medicine and working in oncology.

They immediately alerted 911 to the threat and successfully evacuated forty students and one teacher from the corridor the killer was patrolling. When they realised that paramedics would not be allowed to enter the building they stayed behind to find any remaining wounded victims, this resulted in three extra lives being saved. They were also there to report a bomb threat and deactivate it.

According to reports and CCTV they were briefly prevented from exiting the building by the killer. However, it appeared that they managed to deter him long enough to escape before the killer turned the gun on himself and... "


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

House switched the TV off.

"Doesn't quite do it justice when misses out the part about waiting for the killer to find you and shoot you" Wilson smiled sadly

"Yeah and if they're going to phrase it like that of course we're going to sound like heroes" House sneered

"I'm still lost on the whole motive part of your whodunnit. I get it was paranoid schizophrenia but where did John, Leslie, Claire and Professor Liles fit in?" Wilson queried

"He had paranoid schizophrenia. This made him convinced that the other students were out to get him and that he and Claire were dating. When he read the article Cameron and the others read he became convinced she was cheating on him. This was further fuelled by Claire's relationship with Leslie Davis. That was why John was so protective of Leslie when he saw the killer. He may not have liked her but he knew that Claire loved her. That's why he protected them with the rape accusation and made Leslie's escape a priority. A final act for his beloved sister" House yawned

"Touching. The extent John went to for his sister and touching that, in his own twisted way, how much Ray loved her" Wilson sighed

"It's not touching. It's just a biological drive mixed in with a bunch of chemicals to mess with your emotions" House countered

Trust Wilson to get all sentimental over a killing. For all his cynicism Wilson was a true romantic at heart. It was a large part of the reason why he felt the need to keep marrying damaged women. He had to believe in the fairytale of true love.

House was a realist. True love was a delusion. The Holy Grail. Something that would forever be sought for but never obtained. It was all chemicals that scewed up with your mind. Ray Fields was a perfect example of just how screwed up the chemicals that messed with your emotions were.

"Your snarky comments don't have the same impact anymore. Not now that your bad ass attitude has taken a huge blow. You know, all those people grateful for you saving their lives" Wilson nudged him teasingly

"Reckon I can use it to get out of clinic hours?" he asked hopefully

"Not unless you want another gun pointed at you. I'm afraid no matter how many lives you save or near-death experiences you have you are going to remain a captive in the clinic for your usual shift and your usual efforts to escape will remain pointless" Wilson snickered

"The struggle to resist one's captors is never pointless. Viva de la Résistance!" House mocked

"Well, I hate to break it to you, Che, but she's not going to cave so give it up" Wilson grinned

"Maybe, but no harm in trying. I intend to terrify Cuddy until she finally agrees that my diagnostic skills should not be wasted on runny noses"

Normality had finally returned. They were sitting on House's sofa with a beer in their hands arguing. It was a relief to be using their playful banter for the sake of fun, instead of as a distraction from the fact they faced death. If House was planning on clinic duty scams then they could breathe easy tonight.

"Maybe she could recommend you for CIA rescue mission?" Wilson sighed

"The Wonderboy Oncologist and The Incredible Diagnostician. Reckon it could catch on?" House grinned

"With my looks and your cane? Sure, what could possibly go wrong?" Wilson rolled his eyes

"So between us, we can do anything. We can rescue dying students, stop crazed gunmen, diffuse bombs...I bet we can even rule the world!"

Wilson wouldn't bet against that. As long as House was by his side he honestly they felt they could achieve anything. As long as he had House nothing could ever be that bad. House softened life's every blow just by being there. He may rarely say that he cared but then it wasn't what people said it was what they did. What House did for him every day was filled with the loyalty and love that could only be found in friendship. House was his best friend. If they stopped their special banter for just ten minutes they probably could rule the world or at least PPTH.

Neither of them realised they were holding each other's hand as they chatted playfully. They didn't need to realise it. They already knew the things that they couldn't say with words. It was why they were best friends.

The End

A/N: I love reviews


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